For today's long bike ride, I grew a pair. Of balls. (For those unfamiliar with the lingo--and here I am likely referring to my mom--I speak strictly of metaphorical balls.) On our last long ride I was a Nervous Nellie. I barely clipped in and I went really slowly on the rough roads. And I was terrified to spend more than a few seconds with my hands on the aero bars. Today we did the same route, but today I was like a whole different rider. I attribute this to 3 things:
1. I got a new bike seat and in the process of installing it inadvertently moved it back just a smidge (seriously, like a centimeter or at the most 2 centimeters). That slight adjustment apparently made the huge difference between me feeling "just not quite right" on the Fuji (which is how I felt until now) and feeling completely "at home"--which is how I felt on the Cannondale. It was way beyond just comfort; it felt like more stability and better handling. It just felt like the perfect fit.
2. I am now familiar with the area and today's route, so I was naturally way more comfortable.
3. Balls
Let's focus on #3 shall we? The simple fact is that I just got tired of being a Nervous Nellie. Karin kept bugging me about not getting in my aero bars and about being a wimp on rough roads...and in traffic...and around parked cars...and around corners...and down hills and...well you get the picture. I was being a wimp. Now, to be clear, I did not take kindly to her criticism. In fact, it pissed me off. After all, she is not training for an Ironman. She did not ruin her face within minutes of her first experience with aero bars. What does she even know about fear?! Before I met her she didn't even know enough to be deathly terrified of bears! Of course she is not afraid of bikes!
Anyway, today I put on my metaphorical jock strap and just rode. I went fast on the rough roads and didn't ride my brakes down the hills and clipped in for almost the whole ride. And I spent probably a good 15 minutes (15 minutes total; like 1 minute at a time.) in my aero bars! 15 minutes out of almost 6 hours. Still, it's a start!
Karin and I rode the 33 miles to the ferry like last time, but then she suggested that instead of take the ferry then try to tack on a random 30 miles to reach my 70 planned miles for the day I turn around and ride back the way we came. This was a brilliant plan, since it would allow me to get in a lot of miles on the nice bike path, and she could take the ferry back. (She is not training for an Ironman, after all; plus, unfortunately, her knees were killing her for most of the ride.)
I ended up riding 73 miles. By mile 40 my nether regions were seriously uncomfortable (the new seat prolonged this agony by a good 20 miles) and by mile 55 my shoulders were killing me. Oddly enough, my legs felt great the whole time. When I got back I very quickly changed my shoes and shorts and went out for my 2 mile run to simulate the transition of a triathlon. I ran 2 miles at a 9:10 pace, immediately after a 73 mile bike ride! (In case the italics and exclamation point do not make this clear, that is a really good pace for me.)
Today was a great day! The best part of long ride days is: after the long ride is over, I don't have to do another one until next week!
1. I got a new bike seat and in the process of installing it inadvertently moved it back just a smidge (seriously, like a centimeter or at the most 2 centimeters). That slight adjustment apparently made the huge difference between me feeling "just not quite right" on the Fuji (which is how I felt until now) and feeling completely "at home"--which is how I felt on the Cannondale. It was way beyond just comfort; it felt like more stability and better handling. It just felt like the perfect fit.
2. I am now familiar with the area and today's route, so I was naturally way more comfortable.
3. Balls
Let's focus on #3 shall we? The simple fact is that I just got tired of being a Nervous Nellie. Karin kept bugging me about not getting in my aero bars and about being a wimp on rough roads...and in traffic...and around parked cars...and around corners...and down hills and...well you get the picture. I was being a wimp. Now, to be clear, I did not take kindly to her criticism. In fact, it pissed me off. After all, she is not training for an Ironman. She did not ruin her face within minutes of her first experience with aero bars. What does she even know about fear?! Before I met her she didn't even know enough to be deathly terrified of bears! Of course she is not afraid of bikes!
Anyway, today I put on my metaphorical jock strap and just rode. I went fast on the rough roads and didn't ride my brakes down the hills and clipped in for almost the whole ride. And I spent probably a good 15 minutes (15 minutes total; like 1 minute at a time.) in my aero bars! 15 minutes out of almost 6 hours. Still, it's a start!
Karin and I rode the 33 miles to the ferry like last time, but then she suggested that instead of take the ferry then try to tack on a random 30 miles to reach my 70 planned miles for the day I turn around and ride back the way we came. This was a brilliant plan, since it would allow me to get in a lot of miles on the nice bike path, and she could take the ferry back. (She is not training for an Ironman, after all; plus, unfortunately, her knees were killing her for most of the ride.)
I ended up riding 73 miles. By mile 40 my nether regions were seriously uncomfortable (the new seat prolonged this agony by a good 20 miles) and by mile 55 my shoulders were killing me. Oddly enough, my legs felt great the whole time. When I got back I very quickly changed my shoes and shorts and went out for my 2 mile run to simulate the transition of a triathlon. I ran 2 miles at a 9:10 pace, immediately after a 73 mile bike ride! (In case the italics and exclamation point do not make this clear, that is a really good pace for me.)
Today was a great day! The best part of long ride days is: after the long ride is over, I don't have to do another one until next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment